East Cobb News editor’s note

EDITOR’S NOTE: Coming to terms with a new extraordinary time

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Late Friday afternoon, I turned into The Avenue East Cobb and couldn’t believe my eyes.

A practically empty parking lot, save for a handful of cars.

And two pedestrians taking advantage of the surroundings to enjoy a late afternoon walk on a glorious spring day.

On a typical day, the place would be packed, and the roads leading to it would be groaning with vehicles at one of East Cobb’s busiest bottlenecks.

Instead, like many busy places in the community, The Avenue East Cobb felt like Sunday morning, before church traffic and those seeking a late breakfast or brunch started hitting the roads.

Just a few stores remained open at that retail center, and it wasn’t alone in looking abandoned.

My drive through East Cobb on Friday felt the same way: From the Lower Roswell-Johnson Ferry interchange, and along Sewell Mill Road, Roswell Road, Robinson Road.

Bereft of cars, and lined by more individual human beings walking than I can ever recall seeing.

One of them was a young father, pushing his twin infants in a double-stroller along Johnson Ferry Road near Mt. Zion United Methodist Church.

Many others were making their way up and down the rolling hills of Shadowlawn Drive.

Those who were getting out for something other than exercise were having to take the precautionary measures that have become iconic for our new extraordinary time.

A dozen or so shoppers were lined up outside Trader Joe’s, standing six feet apart, waiting for their cue to move ahead by an employee who was sternly enforcing foot traffic at the door.

The supply of Two Buck Chuck I had in mind for the weekend will have to wait, I thought as I drove by.

I am not comfortable with this. Nor with the sight of masks, which are becoming more commonplace as the days go by.

Or the eerie, dystopian phrases that are now part of our everyday language. To hear, or write, “social distancing” gives me the chills.

Human beings were not designed to do the things we are now having to undertake to combat a deadly virus that has taken the world by storm, and claimed many thousands of lives.

Sometimes I think I’m in a state of denial, although for the past month I’ve written about little but COVID-19 and our community’s response to it.

For weeks now, the days have bled into the nights. At times I forget what day of the week it is. With a few moments to spare, I’ve broken down to consider the monstrous losses that have piled up thus far, and that are sure to continue.

The number of people getting sick and dying.

The businesses closing and workers losing their jobs.

The school kids having their academic work cut short and high school graduations nixed.

The civic and social groups that can only meet virtually.

What all of this is going to do to us in the long run.

It is a scourge seemingly without end.

But nothing hit me like driving Friday to the entrance at East Cobb Park, locked up with barriers and yellow tape.

The parks were closed along with everything else, and have been for a few weeks.

I was stunned, and sat there for a few minutes. Total silence, and stillness, at one of the hubs of our community, on a day in which there would have been a bevy of activity.

I consider myself blessed, however. There is a walking trail near where I live, and I’m an old pro at working remotely. Getting community updates to you in the way I’d like hasn’t been hampered by technology as much as a matter of time.

There’s a staggering amount of news to provide when the basics of daily life have been so disrupted.

I miss getting out and covering stories in public, and connecting with citizens in person.

I miss the human connections that make doing community news so rewarding and valuable. While it’s true that we have tremendous ways to connect—e-mail, social media, text messages and video streaming—nothing truly replaces the real thing.

We’re doing the best we can with what we have. I’m buoyed by the spirit of cooperation from many in East Cobb to observe public health guidelines, and to help those in need and on the frontlines of battling the virus.

I admire the resilience of small business owners who are fighting to survive, and parents and teachers providing educational instruction in a very different classroom environment.

Most of all, I miss the tactile greetings of Sunday mornings. Not long ago, an older woman at the church I’ve been attending gave me a lovely scarf as a friendly gesture. I’m not a member, but have been worshipping there regularly.

I sit near her and some other elderly parishioners, and I wonder about them constantly now. Will we ever be able to say the peace together anytime soon?

It’s been wonderful to say hello and follow the liturgy on Facebook Live for these last few weeks.

But more than anything, I just want to hug someone the way we used to do, before our world was turned completely upside down a month ago.

I want to sit in a restaurant and dine in. I want to take a nap under the trees at East Cobb Park. I want to shop without seeing lines of demarcation taped to the floor, spots not to cross.

I have faith those things will happen, but we’re in for a very long haul for the time being. The statewide shelter-in-place will continue at least through the end of April, and it will be months before any sliver of normalcy will return to our lives.

On this Easter and Passover weekend, I wish all of you a peaceful and restive interlude, and pray we’ll find the strength and courage to navigate this anxiety and uncertainty.

Thanks for your readership, stay safe and be in touch.

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A special note from the editor of East Cobb News

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For the next few days I will be in Florida for my mother’s funeral and to be with my family. While I am gone, East Cobb News will be updated for urgent, breaking or very timely news.About East Cobb News, Wendy Parker

I hope to resume normal publishing by the first of next week. Please feel free to send your non-breaking news, calendar items and other inquiries, but I may not be able to respond until I return.

The Sunday e-mail newsletter will go out as scheduled, although it will be abbrieviated this week.

I will write about my mother when I return. She was a warm, generous woman who raised her children in East Cobb, got involved in church and volunteer activities here and always loved visiting after retiring to Florida. She would especially miss the dogwood trees that I’ve seen blooming in recent days, and they provide warm memories of her now that are very comforting.

Thanks your for your patience and understanding.

 

 

 

 

 

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EDITOR’S NOTE: Finding a sense of peace during the holidays

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On Christmas Eve a year ago, I stepped inside church doors for the first time in a very long while and found a seat in a pew.

This church was packed for a candlelight service that resonated with the faces, and the voices, of children. Many of them were invited to come to the front for a special word of scripture.

A young family sat beside me, including a baby held by her father the whole time. Occasionally, she cooed and smiled, as the song surrounding her, surrounding all of us, wafted through the sanctuary.

The music soared, and so did we.

“Peace be with you.” We grasped the hands of those around us and greeted one another with those words.

These are the usual practices and scenarios at church services every Sunday here in East Cobb, and elsewhere.

But as someone who drifted away from faith as a teenager, I felt immediately reconnected with a spirituality that has long eluded me.

Since Christmas Eve last year, I haven’t been back to church, either, mainly because I’m still not sure what I believe. All I know is that the peacefulness of being in that sanctuary on that evening hasn’t left me.

Neither has the sense that it’s moments like those that really reflect the meaning of the season.

The holidays have flown by, and as usual, I have found them overwhelming. The secular activities of shopping and gift-giving, Santa visits and tree lightings are fine and festive, as are office and school parties.

So is helping those less fortunate with the provision of food, clothing, home supplies and gifts for children as volunteers, and with charities.

Yet there’s something that I’ve found missing, something that I’ve only found in a sanctuary, or in connecting with the Christian traditions of the season. Perhaps it’s just another mid-life occasion in which I’m reflecting on the forces that shaped me.

Earlier this week, I heard Handel’s “Messiah,” the whole magisterial thing, performed by New York Philharmonic on a radio program. If that doesn’t uplift you, nothing will.

It made me think about how such music has started bringing back a little closer to God. So have some of the liturgies, many of the Psalms and an appreciation for the richness and variety of what’s available in this East Cobb community we call home.

Many of our local churches have opened their doors to the public for concerts, nativity scenes and other events this season. They’ll do the same on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

If you’re like me and unsure about what you believe, or you’re if simply looking to find a sense of peace, consider taking a step inside.

And may peace be with all of you this holiday season!

 

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